OK to start a TV thread?
Anybody else watched the Last of Us? I had hopes since it's HBO but I've found it surprisingly dull so far. Maybe because it's based on a video game, not a story. It's like watching the long cut scenes at the beginning of a video game that you're trying to skip through so you can play the game.
And then the show itself feels like a platforming game -- now the pathway is blocked so they have to go into the dark building full of zombies to get to the other side!
And they killed off a bunch of interesting characters which was okay in Game of Thrones because they had a lot more interesting characters. But now we're left with 2 characters and neither one of them exhibits any interesting personality qualities. The tone is totally humorless. Even the fungus-zombies just look silly with shrooms coming out of their heads and their mouths. It has to get better, so I'll keep watching for now.
Meanwhile, good TV -- M Night Shyamalan's "Servant" (Apple) is creepy, sly and darkly funny. Filmed on Spruce Street in Philly. Nell Tiger Free (the increasingly evil nanny) is great, she's going to be a star.
Also there are two amazing Italian productions of Elena Ferrante novels that are incredibly good especially if you're interested in Italian culture and in particular Naples. "My Brilliant Friend" on HBO and "The Lying Lives of Adults" on Netflix. Italian productions, the filming and acting and locations and costumes are just gorgeous..
White Lotus is also great but everybody knows about that one.